A SparkLife Eulogy for the Summer of 2012

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Saying goodbye to the Summer of 2012 is not easy. There were good times. There were great times. There were times of "It's-so-hot-outside-the-lightning-bugs-are-exploding-right-in-front-of-my-face." There is no proper way to send off the Summer of 2012 except to say it will be missed.

When Summer of 2012 was young it gave us the gift of Marvel's The Avengers. We knew it would be the first of many days crammed into an air-conditioned theater, battling for control of the armrest. The Hulk—he smashed; Agent J—he time-traveled; Batman—he rose; and Abraham Lincoln—he hunted…vampires? Anyway, Summer of 2012 bore many fruits from the tree of cinema. We are grateful for each one even if we didn't really understand why they would ever make a musical about hair metal with Tom Cruise. Alas, they did. We look forward to recapturing the experience of Summer of 2012 on DVD and Blu-Ray this winter, when we are sheltered from the blistering cold and snowfalls of January.

The Olympics provided us with fond memories of a summer gone all too quickly. We will remember Gabby, Michael, Usain, the Norwegian women's handball team (huh?), and Team USA basketball. The Games made us feel proud. We were dazzled by feats of athleticism. Who knew gymnasts can do so many cool things with hula-hoops??? Summer of 2012 will always be the season we reflect on the London Olympics and it's really weird Opening Ceremony.

We will miss the days at the beach: the waves of the ocean, the smell of SPF 15 lingering in the air as a some little kid's mother shrieks his name over and over 'cuz he's hiding from her. The only thing close to a day at the beach is a day at the amusement park. Summer of 2012 gave us the opportunity to wait in long lines for rides that made our bones feel like they were melting into puddles of butterscotch. The sheer adrenaline that rushes through our bodies as we hold in our vomit will surely be missed.

Last, but not least, we say goodbye to the anthem of Summer of 2012: Carly Rae's "Call Me Maybe". Why did we like this song? We don't know. Quite frankly, we don't wanna find out. In 10 years we will look back at Summer of 2012 and wonder how that song captivated an entire nation. Meanwhile, Carly Rae will become the 50th judge of American Idol. We'll say we knew her when she was young and sorta talented.